


Tales of Yliath: Memoir of an Empty Sword

by Find_Vega



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Genre: Adult Content, Dreams and Nightmares, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Explicit Language, F/M, Fantasy, Gen, Graphic Description, Homebrew Content, Magical Realism, Other, Slice of Life, ref
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:15:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29855889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Find_Vega/pseuds/Find_Vega
Summary: A Housewife reflects on her chance encounter with a young orphan boy and the influence he would have on her.
Relationships: Dorothy Cantwell, General Staff, Nicholas Abara, Random - Relationship, Vito Cantwell





	1. The Urchin Knight Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work of fiction is based around a homebrew dungeons and dragons campaign with many Easter eggs to other media as an homage to them. Tales of Yliath is just a catch all for shorts and stories within this setting. A primer of the world should be up when I get around to it, but so far I'd prefer my readers to learn about the world through the protagonists and character interactions. Additionally, I'll be experimenting with different perspectives and styles.
> 
> I'm also unfamiliar with the tagging systems. There's a lot. So I'm just going to say this is mature content and leave it at that. Enjoy the story as it unfolds and comment kindly (as in critiques and maybe some errors).

Black mittens thrust themselves into the intense heat of the oven, gloved fingers wrapped around its prize and retreating back to room temperature. A hot loaf of buttered bread in hand, Kara Lexshue Abriel calmly paced herself to the cooling rack by the window, setting the bread on a wooden slab along with a dozen other pastries. 

Wearing a long teal dress and white apron, the elf did her best to ignore the heat from the two ovens, hot enough to make frost giants sweat in their proximity. Her task complete she took off the plain cloth headwrap and allowed her lapis blue hair to flow down her back, stepping to the front of the bakery and watching the first rays of sunlight shine through the glass window.

Kara took in the sights of many pastries on display. From tart vermillionberry scones on a tablecloths to lengthy brown loaves in woven baskets, this ordinary sight symbolized the newest chapter in Kara's long life. Kara took a moment to close her scarlet eyes and took a deep breath of her labor, her nose graced by the smell of sweets and butter in the air. 'To think a brat would make all this happen.'

"That's not a face I see too often." Spoke up a familiar voice from behind, causing Kara's ears to jerk up in fright, a red flush in her cheeks from being caught in a daydream.

"Ryco! How long were you there?" She muttered out, removing the mittens and wiping the sweat onto her apron before glancing behind her. A pair of familiar brown eyes gazed at the elf, brown hair graying in places but nevertheless handsome. This clean shaven dwarf was her husband, dressed in a dull brown shirt and slacks.

"Not long. Right when you closed your eyes." He smiled a toothy smile, stepping into the hot kitchen and plucking a wooden board filled with scones off the rack. "You didn't wake me up."

Kara's eyes averted a moment, busying her hands with the window displays and arranging some chocolate mint cookies. "I did no such thing. You didn't want to wake up when I tried."

"Soo that's what that wiggling was." Ryco answered, heading to one of the baskets and setting more long loaves inside.

"Would you have preferred something more impactful?" She retorted back, shuffling some misplaced scones into perfect symmetry. The thought of such a wakeup had a faint rose on her cheeks and a small smile on her lips, hidden away from her husbands sight. Satisfied with the arrangement Kara stood proudly over the display, though this would be short lived with a pair of strong hands grabbed hold of her.

"So… what were you thinking?" Ryco asked, pressing his chest behind the elf's lower back. If stood side by side, Ryco would reach just eye level with her bosom, though this would be made up for with reach. Her husbands fingers slipped under the apron and stopped just shy from her bosom, sending goosebumps throughout her body and denying her expectations.

"Just remembering the brat that called me ugly." Kara took a glance outside the window, reluctantly sliding his hands down to her lower waistline. At least if any others saw, it would be typical romantic behavior instead of public deviancy. 

"I don't think that anymore." Ryco's hands gave the elf a gentle squeeze around her sides, thumbs stroking small circles under her waistline in distracting ways.

"I know…" Kara couldn't help but smile. As enjoyable as his distractions were, Kara placed both hands on top of his and removed their grip off her body. "Before you get any of this… You have deliveries to take care of."

Ryco chuckled lightly and stepped away from Kara, grabbing two small baskets filled with baked goods for Vale's General Store. He took a side glance at Kara, a grin on his face as he silently mouthed out words. "I'll be back."

Kara rolled her eyes playfully as she set a small sign on the display windowsill, the words 'Open' in pink lettering reflecting on the glass. Open for business, Kara took her position behind the front counter, patiently waiting for her usual clients to stride in. In the meantime, the elf distracted herself with the past, to a rude young boy and his dream of becoming a knight.  
\---  
It was Saturday December 11th, 1186 of the Second Age. The winter snow crunched underneath her boots as she travelled through the slums of Ronapur (Ron-ah-pur). Once famous for the Mythril deposits in the earth, Ronapur was now an impoverished city, decrepit shacks stood underneath aged architecture stained with filth.

Among the light crowd stood out two figures, a well dressed dwarf in a dark fur lined coat accompanied by a tall elf. Dressed in a thermal dark flannel and a dark brown cloak that covered her torso, Kara strode behind the dwarf like a tall shadow, towering above many within this district. In a kingdom made up of dwarves, her height was a novelty that quickly wore off within a week.

"Mr. Cantwell, is it necessary to go through here?" Even in cold weather clothing would always find its way to her joints, aching them like an old human woman. 

"I've told you plenty of times, this route is much faster." Spoke up Mr. Cantwell. A notable businessman within Steiner, Vito Cantwell proudly marched through the streets with a nearly imperceptible limp in his right leg. In the time she knew him, Mr. Cantwell refused to acknowledge the limp, let alone talk about it to even his closest associates.

"I understand the reasoning, but why take the risk yourself? Anyone in the estate could have gone in your place." She did her best to hide the frustration in her tone despite being perplexed by his actions. 'All this risk for a damned bakery?'

"I'll have you know, Miss Abriel, that this bakery is the first investment of many to uplift this damnable city." Mr. Cantwell spoke up proudly, and from the way the edges of his mustache curled Kara knew he was grinning smugly.

Merchants fought on a unique battlefield, one fought with promises and schemes instead of swords. Mr. Cantwell had met many like minded people in his line of work, each vying for wealth and influence; in comparison to those crooks Kara was a far simpler puzzle to read and a welcomed presence for the dwarf.

Kara's ears twitched subtly for an instant, her mind focused to the footsteps that clumsily matched their pace behind them. "Have it your way. I won't be around to get you out of your problems all the time."

"Should that day come, lass, I'll be sure to make you speak at my funeral." Mr. Cantwell chuckled in response, slowing his pace to a halt by a polished door with a twisted iron handle. A wooden sign hung directly eye level to Kara, the words 'Buttercream Bakery' engraved in gold painted lettering. She ducked her head under the sign, prepared to enter the establishment and lowering her guard for a split second.

The distraction was brief that she missed the footsteps suddenly sprinting in their direction, cursing herself as she watched a small shadow rush past her left periphery. Before Mr. Cantwell could reach the handle the dwarf smashed gut first into the door, the wind knocked out of him before he fell to the ground. Without thought, Kara's left hand reached out for the shadow, grabbing a head of hair and yanking down with more force than necessary.

"-Ah!" Cried out a soft voice a moment before he impacted the ground, shocked eyes locking onto Kara's stoic gaze. Crouched over the boy like a predator, the boy came to his senses and began to struggle against the elf, brown eyes narrowed in frustration of her iron grip. "LET GO! LET GO OF ME! UGLY!"

Ugly, a word that labelled something unpleasant to look at, was almost an oxymoron to describe most elves; in Kara's case it had cut deeper than any blade that pierced her flesh. Even as she maintained her stoic gaze emotions bubbled to the surface of her mind, making her stomach tightening and her grip loosen on the boys dark brown hair. In a flash Kara snatched a dark leather pouch from the boys clutches, standing tall over the boy with an indifferent gaze.

"My word, you're something else." Spoke up Mr. Cantwell, taking the coin purse off Kara's right hand. Kara hid her emotions from her face, but Vito knew all too well the wrathful intent waiting to be unleashed on his command. "That's enough. He's just a boy, Kara."

A side-glance soon focused onto her employer, a deathly cold glare that showed the rage that contradicted the stoic face. "This street rat tried to steal from you. You want to let him walk off witho-"

"I'm not a rat!" Spoke up the boy, hopping onto his feet against the elf. "I was gonna pay it back."

A silence was shared between the elf and dwarf, broken by Vito's hearty laugh as he put his purse in his coat pocket, "Oh, that’s rich! I haven't laughed like that in awhile."

"Hones! I need that money!" Stomped the boy, arms raised up to his face in preparation of a fight. Aside from his unbalanced posture, Kara was unamused to take on the boy, her eyes reflecting uninterest. In response, the boy slid his left leg behind, correcting his posture and determined to win against a stronger opponent.

"Oh?" Kara was amused to the point she reflexively raised her gloved hands up in the same manner. She could visualize the snap punch of her left fist caving the boys skull; instead of killing the boy a flick would knock him onto the snow, bruising his forehead red. 

"Ow! The hell you do that, ug-"

"Enough! I have had enough problems this day." Spoke up the dwarf, opening the door to the bakery. "Bring him with us. I would very much like to hear how he'd compensate me."

"Yes Sir." Was all she managed to say, grabbing the boy by the back of the neck and pushing him ahead of her despite his struggling.

///To be continued in Part 2///


	2. The Urchin Knight Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of part 1.

Greeted by stained wood floors, glass displays by the counter, a giant chalkboard of menu items, and numerous empty tables were present within the bakery. Clearly more than just a bakery, it seemed Mr. Cantwell's investment had been spent wisely than Kara had thought.

Kara hung her heavy dark cloak on the coat rack by the door, revealing underneath an olive wool long-sleeve that hid tight muscle tone among other dark secrets; even her dark pants provided definition of significant martial labor, cleverly hidden under a layer of wool padding as she followed behind Mr. Cantwell, pushing the boy ahead of her with some resistance.

The elf's ears twitched as a woman began to shuffle to the from the back of the bakery, a white apron paired with a beige dress and a similar colored headwrap that hid her rich blonde hair. A smile formed on her lips upon seeing who her customers were.

"Wel-, oh here comes trouble," spoke up the baker in a quick jab of words, her arms crossed with a friendly smile on her face.

"Amber, it's good to see you again." Mr. Cantwell spoke up, taking a seat closest to the displays. "I'll have the usual and a cup of tea. Bakers choice."

"Get moving." Kara spoke coldly, pushing the boy forward to a nearby table. The boy remained quiet in his seat, glaring directly at Kara the way only a spiteful child could. The elf simply ignored the boy and took a seat across from him, her ears focused on the blonde calling out to them.

"Can I get you two anything?" Amber asked, shuffling two plates of Powdered Sweet Cakes and a pot of tea on a tray.

"No thank you." Spoke two distinct voices simultaneously, causing the elf to side glance the boy who had a sour face of resistance. Even with all these sweets in front of him, the boy remained stubborn in his defeat.

Kara cleared her dry throat, crossing her arms against the table. "Not this time, thank you."

Amber gave a glance to the boy with brief disbelief, adding two cups to the tray and making her way to Vito. From Kara's right periphery, Amber expertly set down both tea and cake, taking a seat across from Vito. Kara's ears tuned itself in their direction the moment Amber spoke up. "I take it you like your investment?"

"Hah, you've done well for yourself Amber. Who'd you hire? I might take em for myself." Vito sank his teeth on a powdered sweet cake, bits of crumb ensnared by his thick dark mustache.

"You have your trade secrets, I have mine. What brings you to my establishment Vito?" She said softly, taking a sip from her tea cup. From the way she spoke Kara made out a hint of sarcasm and wonder if the two had history. 

Vito laughed at her comment, setting the cake down on a small plate as he washed it down with his own cup. "How has the area treated you?" Vito spoke directly, causing Kara's ears to twitch in response. It was rare to hear Vito skip the banter in a conversation so quickly, intriguing her interests just a smidge.

"It has its moments, but nothing our staff can't handle." Amber took another sip of her tea, setting the cup down and folding her hands onto her lap. "Throwing your name around also has its uses in these parts."

Vito laughed in response, pinching a bit of the cake into his mouth. "Great to hear the name still holds weight in these parts."

A laugh was shared between the two. Kara's eyes twitched directly to the boy, who's head sat down on the table, childish eyes glancing at the cakes on their table. _'Shouldn't have played the tough guy, boy.'_ she thought silently, returning her focus to the conversation.

Kara was spot on to guess these two had history. For the next ten minutes their conversation went on, talking about past gatherings, distant relatives, even shared childhood stories. Very rarely did Mr. Cantwell talk about his past, and for the first time Kara saw a side of her employer she hadn't seen in sometime. A genuine human interaction that didn't concern business.

"So, is that boy your son?" Asked Amber intuitively, setting her cup down and glancing at the young boy's direction.

"A future investor." Chuckled Vito, taking a final bite of his cake. "Came barreling straight for me."

"Ohh." Amber had a small grin on her face, picking up on the nuance of the statement. "What's your name, boy?

"…Ryco," spoke the boy lazily under his breath. A swift left kick to the table leg had him jolting upright, glaring daggers at Kara as he spoke louder. "Ryco, mah-am."

Amber chuckled in response to Kara's treatment of the boy. "Ryco, make sure you repay your debts. 'A Cantwell never forgets to collect' or so the saying goes."

Ryco gave a nod in reply, focusing his attention on Kara and making faces in her direction. Kara simply returned his gestures with a stoic face, maintaining a watchful eye on the boy.

Vito cleared his throat and slowly stood up from his stool, "It was a pleasant time Ms. Mathisen, but I must be heading off now. Do come over and visit the estate sometime. Dorothy's been dying to see you again."

"Finally," spoke up Ryco, sitting upright and hopping off the stool. Kara herself began to leave her seat, grabbing the boy by the back of his tattered shirt.

"Hah, I'll be sure to do that when I have the free time. Please, allow me to send you home with some gifts as an apology." Amber stood up from her seat, setting empty cup and plates on the same tray she brought them in.

"Hah! She's visiting family in the Capitol. I'll be sure to save her a cake or two when she returns." Vito spoke out in reply. As Amber excused herself to prepare the gift basket, Vito quickly approached the duo with a grin on his face. "Now, lets hear your reason for picking my pockets young man. How would you pay back one hundred coins?"

Vito still had crumbs on his mustache, Kara casually gesturing a finger on her upper right lip. Mr. Cantwell was quite a perceptive man, proceeded to dust the powder and crumb off his lip without glancing in her direction.

"When I becomes a knight I'll have more than nuff to pay you back." Ryco's tone was completely confident, bringing Kara's attention to him with a grim glance.

"Last I checked, they don't make stupid people knights." Kara crossed her arms, her gaze focused on the spiteful boy.

"I ain't stupid. And I will become a knight!" Ryco refused to back down from his single minded goal, making the elf's right eye twitch with the hint of frustration.

Vito laughed in response to Ryco's statement, a hearty laughter that boomed off the walls of the bakery. "I'll tell you what lad, I'll have you work in my estate for a week and we call it even."

"I don't hafta do nuthin old man. Jus gimme my beatings and be dun wit it." Ryco was quite surprising if not stupid, amusing Kara slightly that a grin appeared on her face.

Vito laughed heartily once more, "I like you kid, unfortunately you have no say. Theft is a grim crime in this city, and my kindness extends so far." Vito shifted his attention behind him, taking a heavy basket of baked goods in his arms. "Thank you again Amber."

"Bye for now." Smiled the blonde sweetly, her attention focusing on both Kara and Ryco. "Come over anytime you two. A friend of Mr. Cantwell is a friend of mine."  
\---

'Why the hell am I sharing a room with this brat.' Kara thought in her mind, her right fingers nursing the migraine as she laid back on her bed. Across from her right was a spare bed by the window, unused for months until very recently.

"I look like a clown." Ryco exclaimed in protest, tossing the black vest to the ground, leaping into the air and pile driving the cushioned mattress. His old tattered cloths had been replaced with a simple butler uniform that hung a little loosely around the boy, formerly belonging to a halfling that retired some years ago.

"Just wear the damned thing. It fits you snuggly anyways." The elf spoke through the pillow, her voice muffled but clearly audible and glancing a left eye to the boy. Cleaned up and properly dressed, Ryco could have been mistaken for a nobleman's son, contrasting the street rat attitude that also needed some cleaning.

"Don't wanna." Ryco replied meekly, his tone muffled by the wool blanket.

Both shared a silence that lasted under a minute. Her headache cured, Kara rolled her head to the boy and was greeted by bare feet dangling off the edge of the bed. Spring was some time away and the chill in that corner of the room was unforgiving to naked toes.

"You should wear socks at night. The window makes that corner of the room cold." Kara spoke up, rolling over onto her sides with her right arm under the pillow.

"Is not bad. Is colder out there." spoke up the boy, crawling onto his knees and pressing his face by the window. Ryco spoke up in excitement, clearly awed by the view. "Never imagined to see something like this?"

"… The stables?" Kara asked, raising a brow of curiosity. The estate had a total of four Steiner Draft Horses to pull the coach's, with two currently away in Lyra with the Lady of the house. The elf didn't find the sight of seeing horse droppings to be an exciting view.

"Seein the city this high up." Ryco adjusted himself to sit upright on the bed, looking out to the city below the Cantwell Estate. This caught her attention, shifting her head to face the boy and silently observing his body language. Like a dog on its hind legs, Ryco looked to the city with a perceptive eye, and if he had a tail Kara assumed it would be swaying happily.

"It's not much of a view at this hour," Kara spoke up, glancing at the dim sky darken. "In the morning you'll be able to see Belmont Pass."

"Past that is Lyra, the Capitol of Steiner. Nan told me tha-" Ryco's words were cut off for the moment, unable to finish the sentence. His posture seemed heavy, a sight that the elf was familiar with. 

"This… Nan. She your aunt or grandma?" Kara broke the silence with her question, distracting the boy from his thoughts as he pulled himself away from the window.

"No. She found me in a basket in an alley and took me home." From the way Ryco spoke of her Kara could sense anxiety in his tone "She told me stories bout the Old Empire, the Sidonian Knights, even the Steiner Rangers."

"Is she why you want to become a knight?" Kara spoke up to distract the boy from his grim thoughts, her scarlet eyes watching as Ryco slipped underneath the covers and gazed up at the ceiling.

"Someting like that…" Was all she got in response before Ryco slid the covers over his head, rolling onto his sides and assumingly going to bed. Not one to press the issue Kara slipped out of bed and began to walk to each corner of the room, extinguishing each candle one by one until darkness enveloped them.

Blessed with Dark Vision, Kara could see the room as a dull gray scenery devoid of color. She could make out her reflection in the dresser mirror, the vest on the floor, and the boy hiding under the covers.

Before the elf could make it back to her corner of the room, a soft muffled voice cut through the silence. "Kara?"

"Yes, Ryco?" Kara began to crawl inside the soft linens, getting herself comfortable to sleep early.

"Do you have a family?" The boys tone was one of curiosity, giving her a moment to think her response.

"Kinda… I was adopted by a monk in this monastery in the Okada Dominion." A light chuckle escaped her lips, thinking back on those fond memories. " She was a slob, didn't know how to cook, she drank a lot too. But she always put me and her students first before herself, so I respected her."

"What was your home like?" Even with the covers over his head, Ryco rolled over to Kara's direction to listen intently.

Silence followed a long moment as she pondered this question a moment, realizing that her room was very much similar to her life back in Okada. Many of the monks had some form of decorations, but for Kara having a simple dresser and mirror was more than enough for her. "It was pretty big but cramped. There were over a hundred monks living in the monastery, so our rooms were half as big as this room, maybe less."

"Smaller than this? Were you poor?" Ryco's comment did sting the elf, though she sensed no ill intent in his question.

"Not exactly. The monastery had plenty of money, we just used it for essentials. Our way of life was just simpler." Kara waited for the next question, her ears twitching as she heard the faintest yawn from the other bed. Following his example, Kara closed her eyes and began to drift away to sleep.  
\---  
Elves, like many other races, had a life expectancy similar to many other mortal races with the exception of a rare deviation that were blessed with exceptionally long lives. These elves would be born with blue hair and grow like any other until the age of sixteen and twenty two, where the final stages of adulthood would undergo a change called Lucid Recollection in some academic journals with exaggerated detail.

It didn't mean they remembered everything about a moment in time. It would be comparable to an aged landscape painting; From tone to body language, even the time of day, these additional details added more illustration to the blemished product. Sometime in her sleep, Kara's memories would go to a distant past, to a familiar plum tree outside her window, pale silver moonlight shining through its purple flowers.

Many other trees were spread about the Monastery like amethyst guardians, but this specific tree was her own. Planted in celebration of Kara's first birthday with Sister Lexshue Abriel, the plum tree would not only be a physical representation of her growing age, it also grew precariously along the edge of the mountain and earned the nickname 'Lexshue's Growth' by the other monks. This tree would mean the world for her, their fates seemingly intertwined with one another even after she left the Monastery.

A young Kara felt a shiver of cold run through her body, her eyes gazing down to the blood on her sheets and flannel pajamas drenched from many open wounds, seeping like oil through a cheese cloth.

Her eyes would dart to the silhouette projecting itself behind a thin translucent paper doorway, its unnerving tall thin mass petrifying to see. It raised its right hand, pointing an unnatural finger to the direction of the tree. Her gaze would be rewarded with a blackened tree, its dead branches bare of all life yet firmly secured alongside the mountain.

Before she knew it a force pushed her down onto the red sheets, her eyes gazing up at the blackened form pinning her down with its weight. Shadow permeated its entire body with the exception of its head, wearing the face of a dark haired old man like a mocking festive mass.

 _"Don't harm the face."_ Was all it audibly said, before a silent laughter resounded throughout the cramped room and the nightmare began once more.

\---End of Chapter 1 Part 2---


End file.
